The oncologist
-
Disparity exists between patients with lung cancer enrolled in clinical trials and patients treated in the community setting. This study assessed the real-world effectiveness of cytotoxic agents that became available for the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in the last 2 decades. ⋯ Currently approved drugs for the treatment of advanced NSCLC are associated with improved survival in the U.S. Medicare patient population. Our findings support the effectiveness of these agents in the real-world oncology practice.
-
Regulatory approval of oncology drugs is the cornerstone of the development process and approval characteristics shape eventual utilization. Approval trends and characteristics provide valuable information for drug developers and regulators and ultimately affect clinicians and patients. ⋯ Approval of oncology agents is occurring in increasingly more challenging settings, suggesting gaps between eventual practice and development in potentially suboptimal indications. Molecular specifications promise to enhance development, yet widespread use in label indications has not yet been achieved.
-
The outlook for transplant-ineligible multiple myeloma patients has improved enormously over recent years with the incorporation of new agents into standard regimens. Novel regimens combine melphalan and prednisone (MP) with bortezomib (VMP), with thalidomide (MPT), and with lenalidomide with (MPR-R) and without (MPR) lenalidomide maintenance. The efficacy, safety, and cost-effectiveness of these regimens have not yet been compared; therefore, we conducted a pharmacoeconomic analysis using data from randomized controlled trials versus MP. ⋯ MPT cost $142,452 whereas MPR-R cost $248,358. Incremental cost-effectiveness ratio calculations projected that VMP would confer cost savings and better health outcomes relative to MPT and MPR-R. We conclude that VMP is highly likely to be cost-effective compared with MP, MPT, and MPR-R.
-
Racial disparities in breast cancer mortality have been widely documented for several decades and persist despite advances in receipt of mammography across racial groups. This persistence leads to questions about the roles of biological, social, and health system determinants of poor outcomes. Cancer outcomes are a function not only of innate biological factors but also of modifiable characteristics of individual behavior and decision making as well as characteristics of patient-health system interaction and the health system itself. ⋯ This article summarizes existing literature exploring reasons for racial disparities in breast cancer mortality, with an emphasis on treatment disparities and opportunities for future research. Because breast cancer care requires a high degree of multidisciplinary team collaboration, ensuring that guideline recommended treatment (such as endocrine therapy for hormone receptor positive patients) is received by all racial/ethnic groups is critical and requires coordination across multiple providers and health care settings. Recognition that variation in cancer care quality may be correlated with race (and socioeconomic and health system factors) may assist policy makers in identifying strategies to more equally distribute clinical expertise and health infrastructure across multiple user populations.
-
Dexamethasone-induced hiccup (DIH) is an underrecognized symptom in patients with cancer, and little information is available about its treatment. The aims of this study were to investigate the feasibility of methylprednisolone rotation as treatment and to confirm the male predominance among those with cancer who experienced DIH during chemotherapy. Methods. ⋯ DIH during chemotherapy could be controlled without losing antiemetic potential by replacing dexamethasone with methylprednisolone. We also identified a male predominance of DIH. Further prospective studies are warranted.